Director, Skorton Center for Health Initiatives

Student and Campus Life (SCL) inspires transformation in all Cornell students on their journey of individual, academic and personal evolution. Our division is comprised of leading student affairs experts who support our campus on pressing student life matters including public service, health, wellness, social justice, residential living, food services, sports, recreation, career services, and student activities and organizations including sorority and fraternity life. We provide support and services to roughly 25,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on multiple campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

Cornell Health's more than 200 employees collaborate to provide integrated and culturally-sensitive mental health, medical, health promotion, public health, student accommodations, and occupational medicine care and services. Dually focused on holistic health of Cornell students and wellbeing of the larger campus community, the unit supports readiness to learn, to participate fully in the Cornell experience, and to achieve academic, work, and life success. Cornell Health is nationally recognized for innovation and leadership, and is committed to an ongoing journey toward integrated, cost-effective, and community-based services and campus health initiatives.

Cornell Health's Skorton Center for Health Initiatives promotes a healthy campus environment and community through institutional leadership, educational initiatives, research and evaluation, and public engagement. The Skorton Center's core focus areas are the promotion of student mental health and wellbeing, and the prevention of suicide, alcohol and other drug misuse, sexual violence, and hazing. Throughout its work, the Skorton Center prioritizes health equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. The Skorton Center staff also contribute to leading Cornell's Health Promoting Campus efforts with key stakeholders across campus.

The Director of the Skorton Center for Health Initiatives occupies a vital leadership role within Cornell Health, serving as a key thought partner to the Assistant Vice President (AVP) for Student Health and Wellbeing in support of the AVP's leadership of and vision for a culture of wellbeing at Cornell. The Director also provides campus-wide leadership for the university's strategic objective of promoting the wellbeing of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students as a foundation for academic and life success. The Director guides the planning, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive, public health approach to optimizing student mental health and reducing the risk of suicide, alcohol and other drug misuse, sexual violence, and hazing. The Director oversees a program of research and evaluation that monitors health-related trends, supports development of evidence-based institutional strategies, and contributes to the literature on college health. The Director manages a team of prevention professionals and collaborates with faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, parents/families, and local officials to develop and implement campus and community health initiatives. The Director prioritizes public engagement by sharing college health knowledge and experience beyond the campus through public events and leadership meetings with colleagues in the higher education college health community.

Success Factors

• Effective management and support of Skorton Center staff, providing strategic direction for the department, and a key member of the Cornell Health senior leadership team.
• An innovative thinker with the ability to address emerging and changing priorities effectively and seamlessly, employing a systems-level approach to effect change in a college campus environment.
• Successful development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based and theory-informed strategies that address key health and wellbeing priorities.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating effective collaboration with diverse internal and external stakeholders and a commitment to cultural humility.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in Public Health, Psychology, Social Work, Health Administration, or other closely related field.
• Strong relationship-building expertise, strategic planning experience, and systems-level approaches used to address wide range of student health and wellbeing issues.
• Five to seven years of experience providing leadership, planning, coordination, and evaluation of health and wellbeing initiatives in a campus or community setting.
• Experience with supervising professionals in a higher education or public health setting, providing consistent guidance and support.
• Proven ability to lead effective teams and foster collaboration between diverse departments, campus stakeholders, and community organizations.
• Proven ability to engage effectively with faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, parents/families, and local officials to support collaborative campus and community health and wellbeing initiatives.
• Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including a thorough understanding of the social determinants of health and their impact on diverse populations with college health.
• Excellent judgment, tact, and diplomacy in highly sensitive situations.
• Knowledge of trends in campus health and well-being and evidence-informed strategies to address key priority topic areas.
• Experience with change management and ways to lead change within department and campus settings.
• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Doctoral degree in Public Health, Education, Psychology, Social Work, or other closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience in college health promotion and systems-level approaches to support wellbeing.
• Evidence of research and professional contributions, such as presentations at professional conferences and publications.

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Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)

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Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University's heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.